The Light in the Dark
by Evolfairy
Summary: What happens when James gets over Lily, and Remus dates her? It's all apart of Sirius' plan...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Harry Potter. (Although I'm jealous that I didn't think of it before J.K. Rowling.)**

**Author's Note: Please review!**

Chapter 1

Excitement bubbled up inside of Lily Evans as she approached the scarlet red train. The Hogwarts Express had never seemed as comforting and as discomforting as before. This was Lily's last year to ride on this train to her home away from home, and she wasn't exactly sure if she should be happy to be back or sad that it will be over all too soon. As Lily stood there contemplating her feelings someone ran into the back of her, causing her to ram into the cart holding her luggage and fall onto the floor.

"Oh my gosh!" Lily gasped. "Get errrfff me," she yelled into the ear of the mystery attacker.

"Lilyflower, must you always be so unpleasant towards me?" whispered James Potter into her ear causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up. Lily's face flushed from embarrassment as she saw a couple of first years giggle at the new Head Girl's predicament. She wanted to be a good example for the other students, so having a boy laying on top of her on her backside was not exactly the best first impression.

"Must you always be obnoxious?" snapped Lily. "Potter, get off of me right now before I turn you into a one-eyed toad!"

"Only if you would kiss me, so I could be your prince."

At that, Lily rolled her eyes at the thought of actually kissing James Potter. 'Yeah, in his dreams,' thought Lily. Finally, James hopped off of her, and held out a hand to help her up.

"I'm perfectly capable of helping myself off the ground, thank you," groaned Lily as she stood up and dusted herself off. Lily took a few breaths to get rid of her agitation. Today was supposed to be a good day, and she was not going to let Potter ruin it for her. Lily had been working hard for the past six years to earn the position of Head Girl, and now that she had been awarded the position, it seemed like nothing could bring her down. Not even someone as annoying as Potter.

"I know that, Lils, but I was just being a gentleman," James said with a slight smirk on his face. 'Merlin, she's beautiful,' he thought as he looked her over. The summer had treated her well. Although her skin was white, he could tell that it was slightly a shade darker than before. Her gorgeous red hair flowed over her shoulders, and down to her waist. Was it just him, or did her legs get as long as her hair, making her school skirt seem considerably short? James glanced up to lock his eyes with her piercing emerald ones, which made him realize she was talking to him.

"...and we better hurry or we'll miss the Prefect's meeting."

"Excuse me, what are we talking about?" inquired James.

"Merlins beard Potter! Do you ever listen to what I say, or are you always too busy checking me out," blurted Lily. 'Oh gosh, that was a little too honest Lily,' she thought to herself. Sometimes she wished that she could edit her words before they came out of her mouth, but geeze, he wasn't hiding the fact that he was looking over every inch of her body. She was beginning to feel violated. 'Don't lie to yourself Lily. You know you are flattered by his satisfied expression,' she thought. Lily shook her head at the ridiculous thought. She couldn't help but give him a once over as well when she first got up off the floor. The first thing she noticed was that his jet black hair was messier than ever, yet his body had toned a lot over the years. Although he was an arrogant prick, she wasn't blind. She could allow herself to look, as long as she didn't touch. The next thing she noticed was a gold badge on his vest. 'You've got to be kidding me,' she thought as she squinted to read the words _Head Boy _and _Quidditch Captain _written across the front of the badge.

"Basically, I was congratulating you on being awarded Head Boy AND Quidditch Captain, talking about scheduling, and stuff we should discuss in the Prefect's meeting that begins as soon as the train leaves, which is in approximately..." Lily looked down at her watch. "One minute! Bloody hell! Thanks a lot Potter. Now there won't be any places left on the train."

"Not to worry, my dear. Not to worry. Don't you know that the Marauders and I have a special reserved compartment for ourselves? You can come sit with us."

"Ugh, just what I want. To spend the train ride with you and your lackeys," grunted Lily under her breath as she stepped up into the train.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Harry Potter. (Although I'm jealous that I didn't think of it before J.K. Rowling.)**

**Author's Note: Please review!**

Chapter 2

The Prefect's meeting went pleasantly well, considering James didn't add in his usual stupid comments about how he was in love with Lily. 'That was really odd,' thought Lily. It was like as soon as he entered the compartment, he turned into a new person. 'Perhaps it was because Remus was in there...or maybe he's actually taking his job seriously.' Lily laughed out loud at this thought.

"Umm, Lily. Why are you laughing?" asked her best friend Alice Grantly. Thankfully, after the meeting, Lily was able to find her friends in a compartment, instead of having to share with Potter and his friends. Lily adored Remus Lupin, but he was the only sane and intelligent one in the group. Well, that wasn't true. Potter and Sirius Black were at the top of their class with Lily, but the way they acted outside the classroom hindered their intelligence level according to her. Then there was Peter, who Lily pitied. He was neither intelligent or handsome like his other three friends. She never really understood why Potter and the others were friends with him. Perhaps they all had hearts after all, and pitied the boy as well. 'Well, that can't be it. They pick on everyone else who isn't like them...' Lily contemplated.

"Ugh, just thinking about dreaded Potter and how he's Head Boy, and such," Lily stated indifferently to her dear friend who's nose was in a Charm's book. Lily smiled at Alice, thinking of how lucky she was to have met her in their first year. She was the most loyal friend Lily had. Alice was a fair girl. She had dark brown eyes with gold flecks sparkling in them. Lily had always loved her dark brown hair because it was short, straight, and manageable, unlike Lily's mane that was hard to tame on a good day.

"Thinking about James? That's interesting..." jested Marjorie McKinnon. This was Lily's most outgoing friend, who was convinced that Lily and James had a secret affair going on since fifth year when he confessed his love for Lily in front of the entire school. Marjorie was not like Lily and Alice. She hated sitting around in the library all day studying or reading. She'd much rather be on the Quidditch pitch flying around on her broom and practicing techniques to become quicker at finding the snitch. She was Seeker on the Gryffindor's Quidditch team. Naturally, she loved James. They had become quite good friends over the years, and Marjorie could never understand how Lily could hate James at all. She found him to be one of the nicest and funniest guys in the school. Lily, however, found him to be an arrogant toe-rag.

"Oh shut _up_, Marjorie. That's will NEVER happen in a million years, and you know it," Lily said while rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, right. You know something is _bound_ to happen. You'll be sharing your very own common room, and bathroom for that matter," retorted Marjorie. 'I'm not giving up on you two just yet,' she thought.

"Please. I will make myself as scarce as possible. I don't want to give him the impression that I actually enjoy being in his company. Honestly, I don't see what you see in him, Marjorie. I think it must be all that Quidditch. Being that high in the air all the time must have effected your brain," laughed Lily.

"Quit it you two. You best hurry and change into your robes. I expect we'll be arriving any minute now," intervened Alice. She knew that any conversation dealing with Marjorie and Lily talking about James Potter _always_ ended badly.

"Well, Alice. If you would get your nose out of the book and join the conversation, you would see that we are already in our robes," chided Marjorie.

"Hey! Don't be rude to her. Gosh, James must be rubbing off on you," Lily huffed.

"Oh _James_ now is it? What happened to Potter? He must be rubbing off on _you_. Being Head Boy and all turns you on now, does it?"

Lily gasped. "Urgh. Marjorie. Let's just drop it. I am not in the mood to argue. This is supposed to be a happy day without James Potter trying to ruin my life one way or another. He's not even in the room and he's agitating me."

Suddenly, the girls flew forward out of their seats as the Hogwarts Express pulled to a quick stop.

"Come on, let's go. We better hurry before every carriage is taken up," said Lily as she gathered her belongings. 'This is going to be a very long year....' she thought as she followed her friends down the old train's hallway to the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling, and I didn't write anything she wrote. It sucks.**

Chapter 3

"That was quite a show you put on in the meeting earlier, mate," Remus said as he climbed up behind James into the carriage.

"I was not putting on a show. I've just changed." James leaned back in his seat and put his hands behind his head.

"Ha! Prongsie, what exactly have you changed into? Lily deny you again? Have you decided to stay stag full time now?" Sirius laughed at his own joke while brushing his ebony locks out of his face.

"Yes, very funny Padfoot. However, I've decided that I'm giving up on Evans. And no, I'm not going _stag_ full time. I'm going to start dating other people," said James confidently. He had to keep a strong face about him in order to convince his friends that he was really over Lily.

"Alright, Prongs. If that's what you want to do, that's fine with us," said Remus. He grabbed a book that he had been reading on the train, pretending to believe that his friend was honestly over the girl of his dreams. Just to make sure, Remus had to put James to the test.

"So...Since you are over Lily now, does this mean I can ask her to the first Hogsmeade trip?" Remus didn't have to look up from his book to imagine his good friend's face. James' jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

"Wh..what did you say, Moony?" James managed to stammer out. 'Geeze, this is a cruel joke,' thought James. 'What is he trying to do? Make me murder him?' He fidgeted in his seat, waiting to see if he had actually heard Remus correctly. 'This is going to be a lot harder than I thought...'

Remus still kept his face in his book knowing fully well now that his friend was definitely not over dear Lily Evans as he said, "I asked if I could go after Lily now. She's one of the most attractive girls in our year. I mean, wouldn't you rather _me_ date her than some random guy you don't like?"

"Well, I mean...yeah...of course you can date her. You don't need my permission," James said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. 'Why would Remus want to date Lily?' James pondered as he looked down at his hands twiddling his thumbs. He never really thought about Lily dating other guys now. Almost every guy in the school understood that James was in love with Lily, and wouldn't dare ask her out for fear of retribution by the Marauders.

Sirius sat there in disbelief, as well. Remus didn't like Lily. James said he was giving up every year that they began school since second year, and not one of the other Marauders would have dared to go for her before. He couldn't actually be serious this time. Sirius glanced at Remus, searching for some sign that he was kidding. As James turned to play a game of Exploding Snaps with Peter, Remus tossed a piece of parchment at Sirius' head.

_Padfoot, _

_New plan for James and Lily. Let's discuss it tonight in the dormitories after James leaves to go to the Head's dormitories._

A wide grin spread across Sirius' face. 'So this really is a joke...thank you sweet Merlin,' thought Sirius. Well, he couldn't let Remus have all the fun. He needed to make James squirm in his seat too. It was only fair.

"Wait...What!? Does this mean I can go for her too, mate? I wouldn't mind a piece of that nice, juicy..."

"Padfoot!" James yelled. He couldn't believe what was happening. Had all of his friends gone mad?

"Fine, fine. But on to more _important_ things..." James rolled his eyes. Sirius would never understand that nothing was more important than Lily. 'Ugh, James. Snap out of it. You really are going to get over her if it's the last thing you do,' he thought to himself. James turned away from his Exploding Snaps in order to give Sirius his undivided attention, otherwise he would agree to something terrible without even knowing it.

"Now as we all know, our dear Jamesie has earned the title of 'Head Boy', which in turn means that we now have full reign over the school..."

"Underneath Dumbledore, of course," Peter chimed in. He was glad that they were moving on to something other than Lily Evans. That's all that their conversations seemed to revolve around last year, and Peter was sick of it. No one, except for the Marauders, knew that Peter was actually very involved in the planning of all the tricks and pranks that their group pulled. He had become excellent over the years at deceiving people, making them think that he was ignorant to the entirety of the Marauders plans.

"Yes, yes. Underneath Dumbly. Anyways, as I was saying. We have full reign over the school now, so we should begin planning the biggest prank to ever hit this school. Something that will make Bathilda Bagshot have to rewrite _Hogwarts, A History_ in order to include this most epic prank."

"Well, as much as I know I will love this prank my dear Pads, I just wonder if you have thought about who are new Head Girl is?" Remus was known for finding all the kinks in the plans. Sirius on the other hand had to figure out how to work around them.

"Actually, I have thought about it, Moony. Don't try to rain on my parade. However, the way I was planning on solving that problem was to have James woo her since they are sharing a place to themselves, but since he has decided to 'start dating other people', I have come up with a new plan to keep Lilykins off our tails...figuratively speaking of course." Sirius couldn't help but joke about their secret. It was just too easy. However, the others didn't always find it too funny.

"Well, thanks. I wouldn't want to go through hell just for our prank. Now, what, pray tell, do you suggest we do to 'keep her off our tails', as you say," said James.

"Now that, my dear sir, will have to wait. We're pulling up to the castle now..."

With that said, the carriage pulled to a stop and all four of the boys hopped out with their luggage. James looked up ahead at his majestic home, and a feeling of sadness washed over him, realizing that this was the last time he would be approaching the school as a student with his three best friends.

***

**Author's Note: This is my first fanfic, so tell me if I'm doing well, or if I'm killing it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: No, I'm not J.K. Rowling. Am I complaining? Kinda.**

**A/N: Sorry this is so short. I'm still figuring out where I want this story to go.**

Chapter 4

As all the students entered the Great Hall, noises of admiration echoed across the room. The walls were laced with gold, and the ceiling looked as beautiful as the sky outside. Although horrible things were happening outside of Hogwarts, not a single person could remember them when inside this room.

"Now, everyone hurry up to your seats! Yes, even you Mr. Malfoy. Hurry, so we can sort the first years into their houses." Professor McGonagall was running around frantically. She wanted to get the first years all sorted quickly, so everyone could eat their meals soon.

After there were new additions to the Gryffindor table, along with all the other houses' tables, Dumbledore began to give his usual beginning of the year speech. Sirius took this opportunity to let the guys in on his devious plan while the other students around them were enraptured by the boom of their headmasters voice.

"Okay, okay. Guys listen up, I need to get this out before the food gets on the table because once that happens I'm out...James, pay attention! Lilykins will still be there in five minutes."

"What? I wasn't looking at her. I was looking at...Marjorie. Have y'all noticed how much prettier she's become since we were little?" James honestly was looking at Marjorie, who was sitting right next to Lily. He had never noticed her in this light before today. Maybe he really was getting over Lily.

"Uh huh, right. Anyways," Sirius ignored his friend's lame attempt to act like he was over his dream girl. "In order to get our gorgeous head girl off our tail, I suggest...well, I'm not actually suggesting because Remus was going to do this anyways...but I suggest that Remus pursues Ms. Lily in order to distract her from the most wonderful prank of all time." Sirius looked at his friends hopefully, knowing that if all goes according to plan, two great things could come out of this.

Oddly, Peter was the first one to speak. "Well, I have no objections. I think this is a great idea." 'Not like I could really change Sirius's mind anyways...he looks dead set on this plan,' thought Peter.

"Well, I do! We can't make Remus do something that he doesn't want to do," James said.

"Um, let's go back to the conversation in the carriage... I believe Remus said he wanted to date Lily," Sirius said. He knew James was trying to forget about that.

"Yes, I do, and I happen to think this is a great idea. I'll get to date Lily, and we'll have an awesome prank," stated Remus. He looked at James, who's face was paling. "Oh come on James. This will help you get over her as well. Isn't that what you wanted?"

'No, not exactly...' James thought. "Fine, you're right. So what do we need to do first?" James said. He might as well go with the plan because he knew that whatever prank Sirius was planning, it was going to be good.

"Well that, my boy, is up to Remus. First, he must woo her. Then we can start on our plan. We have to make sure that Lily and Remus actually end up dating before we get things going. We don't want the prank to be ruined, do we?" Sirius was proud of himself. He couldn't believe that he actually thought all this through, and it was apparent that his friends were shocked as well.

"Wow, uh... you're actually right Sirius," Remus said.

"Ah, ha! See, the plan is perfect. Not even Remus can find something wrong with it," said Sirius in an extremely excited voice. "Now, let's eat! I'm starved."

Sirius didn't realize that he had said this so loudly until Dumbledore responded with, "Yes, as Mr. Black says, 'Let's eat!' But before the two Head's dig into their food, let them be reminded that there will be a Head's meeting in my office after all the students are taken back to their houses. Remember, I really enjoy chocolate frogs."

***

**A/N: Review! It's my first fanfic, and it'll help me write more.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Anything that you recognize from the Harry Potter book's...it's not mine.**

**A/N: Review! It makes me all excited to write. Thanks!**

Chapter 5

"As you both know, you will be working close together all year. Should a problem arise that you two cannot settle on your own, bring it to me or Professor McGonagall and we will take care of it," said Dumbledore. Lily shifted in her seat uncomfortably because the twinkle in his eyes made her feel as if he was not talking about problems with other students. Lily was notorious for her fights with James. Rarely did students or teachers interfere, scared to be at the wrong end of Lily's wand. The only one's who were able to break up fights between the two were Dumbledore and McGonagall. 'Well, it's Dumbledore's fault if we get in a lot more fights this year...he's the one making us room together!' Lily thought to herself.

As if Dumbledore had read Lily's mind, he then stated, "I have no doubt in who I selected to be the Head's this year. I suspect that the both of you will be able to control your... emotions." He looked from Lily to James.

"Don't worry Professor, we will not let you down," James said confidently. Lily quickly nodded her head in agreement, dumbfounded by the professor's statement. 'Our emotions?? More like Potter needs to start thinking with his head instead of his pants. Ugh, _our _emotions,' thought Lily.

"Good, very good. Now, here's a list of all the passwords to each house," James stood and took the list from Dumbledore. "Tomorrow, have a schedule drawn up for patrol duties and bring them to Professor McGonagall. Tonight, some teachers will be taking the first round, but tomorrow you two must start your patrol. Now, go to bed. I have a feeling we're going to have a long year ahead of us."

The two head's said goodbye and started to head towards the door, but Lily realized that they hadn't been given the password to their dormitory.

"Excuse me, Professor?" She said as she turned around, "You forgot to tell us the password to our dormitory."

"Oh yes, yes. It is _friendship. _Goodnight..." Dumbledore smiled mischeviously and folded his hands together.

With that said, the two heads left the headmaster's office, headed separate ways, both off in their own world.

* * *

"Okay, guys," Sirius started. He, Remus, and Peter had to hurry while James was at his meeting because he had said that he'd come by the dorm's afterwards to talk. "First of all, this plan really isn't about the prank. Don't look so disappointed, Wormy!" Peter's face seemed to fall completely. 'If this isn't about the prank, then what in Merlin's name are we doing?' Peter thought. "We're still going to have an amazing prank guys," Sirius continued. "However, James is acting dumb and I think we need to intervene."

"I completely agree. I thought me trying to date Lily would snap him out of his idiocy. I mean, sure, he's not exactly fond of the idea, but he's just going along with it! I figured he'd at least fight for her..." said Remus slightly defeated.

"Don't give up so easily, Remus! I have a GREAT plan. Moony, you must go for Lily. Honestly, I don't think you'll hit much trouble. She is very fond of you. In fact, you're the only one she likes out of all four of us...which I have no idea why. I am much sexier than you are by far."

"Yes, but I have a feeling that if she was as shallow as the girls you date, then James probably wouldn't like her," Remus responded.

"Ugh! I'm so offended...but it's true," said Sirius laughing. "Okay, so the plan begins tomorrow. Remus, you must start cozying up to our beautiful redhead. Peter, you and I will be planning the prank because then James will become suspicious if we don't have something for him."

Just then the door swung open, and a dazed James walked into the room. But just as quickly as the boys noticed his expression, it was gone. A big grin came up on his face.

"Evening, boys. Tell me you haven't started planning the prank without me," James stated.

* * *

As Lily left the headmaster's office, she was in a state of confusion. 'Did Potter just take care of that whole meeting? I don't even have the list. And where was he off to in such a hurry anyways? Does he think I'm going to make the schedule all by myself while he's off doing Merlin knows who or what?? Ugh, he'll never change..."

Lily rounded the corner angrily and noticed the painting of an older wizard that led to the Head's common room.

"Pass...pa..passworddd," the old man managed to spit out.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Friendship."

The portrait swung open. Lily walked in and temporarily forgot about her anger at James. She was in awe of the Head's common room. The walls were crimson red with gold trimming. At the center of the room was a large, brick fireplace that was between two doors with the Gryffindor crest hanging over it. In front of the fireplace was a coffee table with a gold love seat and two gold chairs. To Lily's right was a bigger wooden table with some chairs surrounding it. 'Gosh, it's so good to be appreciated,' Lily thought. She must have been the luckiest girl in the entire school. The door on the left side of the room had her name on it, so she headed that way.

She opened the door and a rush of excitement filled her. Her room was the size of a regular dormitory, except it only had one bed instead of five. It was decorated in her favorite color, emerald green. It was also decorated with gold trimming and accents, like the common room had been. Pictures of her, Marjorie, and Alice decorated the walls, along with pictures of her and her parents. Lily noticed sadly that only one picture of her and her sister from their youth sat on her dresser. Then, she ran over and hopped onto her bed. It was biggest, most comfortable thing she had ever seen and felt. On the right side of the room was a door that must have led to the bathroom. She bounced off the bed and hurried through the door.

The bathroom was just as amazing as every other part of the Head's house. It was decorated in red and gold as well. The room was slightly smaller than the rest of the rooms, but in the center of the room was a huge bathtub with many many faucets. At the front of the bathroom was two sinks. One with Lily's stuff already set out, and the other with James' stuff set out. On the opposite side of Lily was a door that led to James' room. 'Hmm, I'm just curious... It's not like I _know_ that it's Potter's room on the other side,' thought Lily.

She strolled across the room and opened the door to what looked almost identical to her room. His entire room was green, like hers. 'Odd... I thought they were decorating to the tastes of each of us...' thought Lily. The only thing different in James' room was all the pictures of him, his family, and the Marauders, along with Quidditch posters hanging on the walls.

All the sudden, the door that led back to the common room swung open.

"Lily?" James was not expecting this surprise in his new room.

Lily turned around; her face quickly flushing from embarrassment at being caught snooping.

"Ja...Potter! Um, I was just looking around at all the rooms. Um, I was coming from the bathroom and it didn't cross my mind that this would be your room and um, yeah. I'm just gonna go..."With that, Lily started to head back towards the bathroom. 'He probably thinks I'm such an idiot...' thought Lily.

"Hey, Evans!" said James.

"Yes?" Lily turned around, surprised at his new name for her.

"Goodnight," James said with his famous grin.

"Uhh huh..." Lily felt almost weak. She swung around quickly and headed into her room, closing the door behind her.

Lily went to lay on her bed, confused once again. 'What is going on with you tonight, Lily?' James' smile never affected her that way before. Something must have been wrong with her food tonight... or maybe she drank too much pumpkin juice. A knock on her door leading to the bathroom disrupted her thoughts.

"Come in," she answered.

James cracked the door open a little, and stuck his head in. "I was just thinking that maybe we could work during lunch or a free period tomorrow on the patrol schedule. I don't want to keep McGonagall waiting."

"Oh... yes, you're absolutely right. I'll get with you tomorrow on what my schedule is, and we can figure something out," Lily responded.

"Alright, goodnight again Evans."

"Yeah...Goodnight." Something must have _really _been wrong with her that she didn't even remember her Head duties. 'Goshhh, could this night be even weirder?' she thought to herself.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling invented all Harry Potter characters and all things affiliated with Harry Potter. Dang itt.**

**A/N: This just popped into my head, so I figured I'd post it. Review please!**

Chapter 6

The next morning, Lily met Marjorie for breakfast in the great hall, looking depressed as she glanced down the table at Alice eating breakfast with her longtime boyfriend, Frank Longbottom. He was an awkwardly handsome seventh year Gryffindor, and they were so perfect for each other. Lily couldn't help but be jealous.

"Lils, what's up wit h you? You're usually all abnormally giddy in the mornings, especially on the first morning of classes," said Marjorie slightly worried, while helping herself to some eggs and bacon.

"I'm sorry... It's just I'm kind of jealous of Alice and Frank... They are so adorable with each other, and why can't I find some tolerable man amongst all these boys?" Lily felt like a stupid first year when she admitted her feelings out loud.

"Well, it looks like you might be in luck. It seems a Marauder has taking a liking to you," Marjorie said with a smirk on her face as she tilted her head towards where James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus had been sitting.

"Oh, please. Will Potter ever get over himself? I'll never date him," Lily said without looking up from her food.

"Actually, I was referring to one of his friends. Our dear Mr. Lupin keeps throwing glances at you," Marjorie said giggly. "It's quite funny actually. Almost as if he wants you to notice."

Surprised, Lily turned towards the group of boys. Marjorie wasn't lying. Remus had been staring at Lily, and when she locked eyes with him, he winked at her while giving her a spectacular smile. Lily smiled back and blushed, not used to getting this type of attention from Remus, not that she minded.

"Oooo, Lily. It seems your wish is coming true. What about Remus?"

Lily nearly choked on her biscuit. "You can't be serious."

"No, that would be your admirer's best friend. I'm _your_ best friend," Marjorie said teasingly.

"Oh, shut up! You don't think he'd actually be into me, of all people. I mean, he could get any girl in this school. He's quite a catch," Lily said with a sad tone.

"Lils, you are gorgeous! Plus, you're probably the only girl on his intelligence level. I don't see why he would be into any other girl. I think if the moment arises, you should give him a chance. That's that," Marjorie said with finality in her voice. 'This may help her realize that James is the one for her...or at least make James get over her,' Marjorie thought to herself. She had tried to be silent for the past six years about James around Lily because she knew how much Lily disliked him, but Marjorie was always jealous of how much attention he showed Lily. Marjorie had known him before Hogwarts because their families were very close. She really liked him a lot. They were good friends, but sometimes she felt like it just wasn't enough.

"Yes, I suppose I will....but only because I'm too scared to go against you when you have that tone in your voice," Lily said laughing.

Meanwhile at the other end of the table, the Marauders were having a similar conversation to the girls.

"Guys, have you noticed how pretty Lily has become since last year," said Remus with a devilish grin.

"Oh yes, very pretty. Don't you agree Sirius?" Peter stated laughing quietly.

"Completely agree. She's become quite the lady. Can't say I didn't see this coming. I called it second year, didn't I James? I said, 'That Lily Evans, she's going to be gorgeous our seventh year'," Sirius said smirking.

"I believe that was _me _that said that Sirius," James grumbled.

"Hmm, I guess you're right. But still. Don't you agree James that Lily looks exceptionally well this year," said Sirius, trying to get a reaction out of his friend.

"Well, I actually haven't noticed at all. In fact, I seem more swept away by how, as you say, 'exceptionally well' Marjorie looks. Honestly, I think Quidditch has done wonders for her," James said.

"Yes, Marjorie. Right," said Sirius struck dumb by his friend. 'I can't believe he is seriously going through with getting over Lily...and with Marjorie of all people,' he thought to himself. "Well, Prongsie. Be careful. I know you're over Lily and all, but Marjorie has been your good friend since...well forever. Are you sure you want her to be your rebound?"

"She's not a rebound Sirius. Just a friend. All I'm doing is admiring how she looks...just like Remus is admiring how Evans looks," James said slightly irritated. He pushed away his half empty plate and said, "I'm going back to my room. I need to collect my things for class. See you later." With that, James ran over to Professor McGonagall for his new class schedule, and headed out of the Great Hall, not hesitating to wink at Marjorie as he passed by.

"Evans?" Sirius said. "Since when did he start calling her that? And did you see him wink at Marjorie? This may be a little harder than I thought." Sirius then divulged himself into his food, not saying a word the rest of breakfast because he was lost in thought.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything Harry Potter.**

**A/N: REVIEW! Even if you absolutely hate my story. Tell me why, so I can make it more appealing to the reader. If you love it, still review! It makes me feel better about my writing. Haha. Well, enjoy!**

Chapter 7

Lily was actually not disappointed to have the Marauders in all her classes this year. Well, all of them except Peter. Peter barely scraped 'Acceptables' on most of his O.W.L.'s, so he didn't qualify for the N.E.W.T. classes that Lily and the rest of them had planned on taking.

In every class, Remus sat next to Lily, not missing the chance to be partners with her. At first, Marjorie was upset by the new seating arrangement until James offered to be partners with her. Lily noticed that since that moment, Marjorie had been giddy all day. 'Odd... She's acting as if she never gets to see Potter,' thought Lily. However, this thought quickly faded away as Remus paid more and more attention to her.

It was during Transfiguration, their last period of the day, that James started to become a little agitated with his friend's new found interest.

"Psst, Pads," James whispered. Sirius was sitting to the left of him, and Marjorie to his right. He wanted to be quiet as possible so Marjorie wouldn't hear the frustration in his voice about their best friends.

Sirius looked at James, and noticed his jaw clenching as he tilted his head towards Remus' hand tracing circles on Lily's thigh. 'Geeze, Remus sure didn't want to start slow,' thought Sirius smiling to himself.

"What the hell are you smiling about?" James whispered angrily. Marjorie glanced over at him and Sirius with a look of confusion on her face.

Sirius grabbed a blank parchment and began to write.

_Smiling about nothing...just thought about a joke I heard earlier and laughed. What's wrong with you?_

Sirius passed the paper to James, who was trying extremely hard not to stare at Lily and Remus.

_What's wrong with me??_ James wrote. _What's wrong with me is that I chased after Lily for SIX years, and not once has she allowed me to barely even touch her without retribution, and now only after hours of Remus showing attention to her, she's smiling and ALLOWING him to touch her leg of all places! But whatever. I don't care. Let Moony do whatever he wants. I'm over it._

James shoved the paper over to Sirius.

_Yeah, you sure are acting like you're over it. Why don't you just admit that you still have feelings for Lily._

Sirius passed the paper back to James nonchalantly, feeling as if he just won the war.

However, to his disappointment and surprise, James crumpled up the paper, turned to Marjorie and whispered something into her ear that made her laugh. 'Well that wasn't the reaction I was going for,' thought Sirius.

McGonagall dismissed class, and everyone rushed out the door to leave. Remus and Lily walked over to their friends to walk with them back to the common room, but then, as if Sirius' and James' conversation never happened, James grabbed Marjorie's hand and said, "Sorry lads, and lady, but we have a date with a broom cupboard." Marjorie's faced turned red, but Lily could see that she was clearly enjoying the fact that James had just blurted their evening plans to everyone. "Goodnight!" yelled James, who was pulling a giddy Marjorie through the door.

Remus and Sirius looked at each other flabbergasted, but it was Lily who looked the most shocked out of the three of them.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Lily said almost inaudibly, confused by what had gotten into her best friend.

Sirius was not going to let James win this battle. Althought it was just the first day of the plan, it was already time for them to step up their game.

'"Pardon me, Lily. But I believe that means they're off to snog. Remus, you must teach her about snogging because our innocent Lily is missing out on so much," Sirius said elbowing Remus in the ribs, while winking at Lily.

"Sirius, must you always be so....you?" Lily said rolling her eyes. "I guess that means I'm going to have to make the patrol schedules by myself, seeing as James avoided the task all day. See you guys later," Lily said a little agitatedly.

As soon as she was out the door, Sirius punched Remus in the arm.

"What in Merlin's name was that for?" Remus said while rubbing his aching arm. He was already weak because his transformation was coming soon.

"Sorry, Moony, but are you an idiot? Go HELP her with the schedule. It'll make her like you more, and most of all, James will be pissed that you took his spot," said Sirius a little devilishly.

"Oh, right...Good idea Pads!" Remus yelled back at Sirius as he darted down the hallway towards the Head's dorms.

* * *

Lily entered the Head's common room, and plopped onto the love seat. "What a day," she said outloud to herself dreamily.

"Yes, and it would be better if some boy wasn't pacing outside the door," said the old man who was supposed to be at the entrance of their dormitory. Now, he appeared in what used to be an empty frame over the table on the other side of the room.

"Holy hell. Scare people, much?" said a startled Lily hopping off the couch. She walked over to the portrait hole as the old man disappeared to the front again, and opened it. To her surprise, Remus appeared in her doorway.

"Hello Lily. Um, I was wondering... Do you need any help with the schedules? Being a prefect and all, I bet I could be of some help," said Remus with his dreamy smile.

"Oh, of course! Come on in. I was just about to begin," said Lily happily.

The both of them started out on separate ends of the couch, but after an hour of working on the schedules, they were cozying up to each other in the middle. Mostly, this was Remus' doing because he knew that James wouldn't be out with Marjorie for very long.

"Okay, so Head's patrol Monday's and Saturday's, Gryffindor on Tuesday's, Ravenclaw on Wednesday's, Hufflepuff on Thursday's, Slytherin on Friday's, and on Sunday's one Head and one prefect will patrol together. This Sunday, it'll be me and you," said Lily. "Thank goodness it's finished! I couldn't have done it without you." Without thinking, Lily leaned over and kissed Remus on the cheek.

Lily's faced turned almost as red as her hair saying, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. Sorry..."

"Oh, trust me. I don't mind," said Remus, who leaned in a little closer to kiss her.

"What the bloody hell is going on in here!?" yelled James abruptly as he walked through the portrait hole, mortified at the scene before him. Remus nearly fell off the couch from the intensity of James' voice.

"Well, shouldn't you recognize it Potter? I believe Remus was about to kiss me until you rudely barged in," said Lily who stood up angrily. "Anyways, it's thanks to Remus that we even have a patrol schedule to turn into McGonagall. You blew me off to snog my best friend. Don't think I don't see through your lame attempt to get to me through her, by the way! I swear, if you hurt her, I'll hex you so much that not even Dumbledore will be able to find a countercurse. Ugh, I'm going to turn this in to McGonagall. You can go start patrolling on your own," Lily said with a huff.

"Who says I even _want _you anymore!" James yelled back just to hurt her the way she was hurting him. His goal was achieved because a flash of hurt appeared in her eyes. She then walked briskly out the door, leaving James and Remus alone.

"Remus," said James with a look of despair. "How could you do this to me?" James walked towards Remus, who was afraid that James was about to hit him in the face, but instead he walked straight into his room, shutting the door behind him with a bang.

'Great, Sirius. Look what we've got ourselves into,' thought Remus.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Well, you should know by now. I'm not J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: So many views, but so little reviews! Thanks to those who are reviewing, though. Eh, I'm not exactly in love with this chapter, but tell me what you think! Also, I edited this chapter. I didn't realize how many mistakes I had. Dang it.**

Chapter 8

The next few weeks seemed to drag on for all the seventh years. N.E.W.T. classes were kicking their arses, but this was not the only reason Lily was exhausted.

Remus and Lily's relationship grew tremendously since the incident with James. She was not going to let him think for one minute that she would allow him to control who she could like or not like. She spent a lot of time with Remus studying, hanging out in her common room, and walking around the grounds. They weren't officially a couple yet, but she had a feeling that they were not far from it. They basically acted like they were dating.

James on the other hand had given up on Marjorie, and started pursuing a lot of random girls who Lily thought he would never go for. They were all of the girls in his 'We Love James Potter' fan club. Lily hadn't seen James date girls like that since they were in their fifth year. Although it bothered her slightly that he preferred them to her, she tried not to dwell on it.

Lily and James spent little time together as possible since the incident. He had even started avoiding his friends whenever Lily was around, claiming that he had some place to be or some girl to meet. None of this phased Lily, though. She was happy with Remus, and she was glad she didn't have to listen to James ask her out five times a minute.

Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with Lily's new relationship with Remus. Alice did not like that Lily was falling so easily for him. When Marjorie told her that she had encouraged the relationship, Alice was furious.

The girls were laying on their beds in the dormitory discussing the past few weeks. Alice had been so caught up with Frank, not to mention her entire schedule was different from her friends, that she didn't realize how much she had missed.

"You told her to go for it! But what about James?" Alice said.

"I'm sorry Alice... It's just... I got caught up in thinking I liked him, and I just wanted a chance," Marjorie said not looking her in the eye. "But the more I hung out with him, the more I realized that he would never like me that way. You should have seen his face whenever Lily and Remus would pass by."

Alice sympathized for her friend. She knew that in fifth year Marjorie had started developing feelings for James, but she thought she was over it. "Well, I'm glad you got your chance... But have you seen the way he's been acting? And isn't it a little strange that Lily, the girl who has given no boy at this school a chance, has quickly developed a relationship with Remus? Not that I'm upset that Lily is trying to make herself happy, but he's a Marauder... How can we trust that his motives are honest?" Like Lily, Alice didn't trust the Marauders because of how they had treated people in the past.

"Well, you know she's always been fond of Remus. I mean, he's not as terrible as James and Sirius. Not the they are terrible either, but he's just more...tolerable," Marjorie stated with a smile. "You know, you're right. I thought it was strange in the beginning that Remus had started showing Lily so much attention. Maybe I should go talk to my favorite Marauder about this... I'll talk to you later!" Marjorie hopped off her bed, and ran down the stairs. 'Why didn't I realize this before,' she thought to herself.

"Yeah, uh okay! Thanks for keeping me in the loop!" Alice yelled after her. 'Ugh, I swear that girl is so hard to keep up with,' she thought laughing to herself.

* * *

"Sirius!" Marjorie yelled up to the boys rooms. "Sirius! Come down here right now!"

Sirius poked his head out the door. "Yes, my sweets?"

Marjorie rolled her eyes. "Sirius, there's something I need to discuss with you..._in private_," she said while her eyes glanced over at some first years watching the two talking to each other.

"Well, if I get to spend some alone time with a girl as pretty as you, then your wish is my command," Sirius said sauntering down the stairs. "However, I must tell you. I prefer the astronomy tower to a broom cupboard," he said with a wink as he reached the last step.

"Ugh, Sirius! Not in front of the first years," Marjorie said playfully while slapping him on the shoulder. "Come on, we have some things we need to discuss. Let's take a walk." Marjorie grabbed his hand and drug him out the portrait hole. Sirius turned and winked at the first year girls watching them, which caused the girls to have a fit of giggles.

* * *

After what seemed like forever, Marjorie had finally got them to their destination. She paced three times in front of the wall on the seventh floor, then a door formed out of thin air.

"The Room of Requirement?" Sirius said, following the girl through the door.

"Yes. I needed a place I could talk to you without any interruptions or distractions," said Marjorie as she sat down on a couch in front of a fireplace. "Please, sit."

Sirius hesitated, afraid of what he was going to hear, but then decided he might as well, seeing how Marjorie wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Okay," he said. "What's going on?"

"Well, I just...I just wanted to see if Remus' intentions were honest with Lily," Marjorie said. "And when I say honest, I mean... Are you and Remus planning something? I know you. I know that none of the Marauders would dare to go for the girl of their best mate's dreams. I'm just surprised that James hasn't ripped Remus' head off yet."

"Yeah, me too," Sirius said, more to himself than to Marjorie. Remus had been really pushing it lately. He had been staying late over in Lily's common room, and he could barely keep his hands off her. He knew that none of this had gone unnoticed by James, but his friend never let on how he felt about the relationship. Rather, he just acted like nothing was happening at all.

"So...are you two planning something?" Marjorie said, interrupting his thoughts. "I mean, I won't be mad if you are... Alice and I want to help too. It's just we both believe that Lily really does like James deep down, and this new relationship with Remus may be jeopardizing any chance of Lily and James."

Sirius contemplated his options. 'Should I talk to Remus first...or should I just tell her," he thought. 'Might as well...anything for the cause.'

"Okay," Sirius started. "Well, it all started when James started claiming that he was over Lily. You see, he does this every year, but Remus felt like something was different because James wasn't all over Lily during the prefect's meeting. Moony then decided to tease James and asked if it was okay that he asked Lily out. At first James freaked, which we knew he would, but then he acted like he didn't care at all. So then I figured that maybe if Remus started showing interest in Lily that Prongs would get over his 'I'm over Lily la la la' phase, and get back to normal. However, our plan seems to be backfiring... Now he's starting to act like me, and I don't like it! Besides the fact that he's taking all my girls, he's hanging out with us less and less. He's such a bloody idiot." Sirius finished with a huff. He was glad he could get that all out to someone other than his mates. He loved them, but he needed a new point of view of the situation.

"Well that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Marjorie said laughing. "Did you even consider the possibility that Lily would fall for _Remus_?"

"Actually...no," Sirius said. Now that he thought about it, Lily had started falling for Remus a lot more than he thought she would. "To be honest, I figured James would come back to normal and sweep Lily off her feet."

Marjorie rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Has she ever fallen for his attempts before?"

Sirius looked away and slapped his forehead. "Oh hell, I've messed everything up, haven't I?"

Marjorie nodded. "We're going to fix this..." Marjorie sat there in thought for a couple minutes while Sirius fidgeted in his seat.

"Maybe, we can keep letting Lily hang around Remus...and possibly date him," Marjorie said. "You have to convince James to drop his act of stupidity, and then maybe she'll start to like him more."

"Okay," Sirius said. "But why does Remus have to keep pursuing Lily? Isn't that what messed everything up in the first place?"

"Well, I think that their relationship will motivate James to take action, once you convince him that things aren't over with him and Lily... Come on, let's go tell the rest of our friends. We need to hurry and make things right," Marjorie said as she got up from the couch. She headed out the door, leaving Sirius with his thoughts.

'I guess it's worth a shot,' he thought when he got up a few minutes later to follow her to the Gryffindor tower.


End file.
